[NOTE: This is a prototype website, still very much under construction. Content and format are in flux.]
The heart of this website is a digital representation of the ancient catena (commentary compilation) on the book of Ezekiel, and in particular of codex Ottobonianus 452, one of the most important manuscripts containing the compilation. This catena preserves extensive comments by numerous early Christian interpreters of the book, many of which are largely unknown or even completely unpublished until now. By bringing this specific material to a state of broader accessibility (including English translations alongside original text), this website attempts to facilitate and enrich the study of Ezekiel's reception history by scholars and non-scholars alike. It uses the catena as a model as well as a stepping stone to much broader material: the digital platform enables easy comparison of material both in the catena and outside it.
Some ancient Christian commentaries on Ezekiel or otherwise full treatments of the book have been preserved in their entirety—those of Jerome, Theodoret of Cyrrhus, and Gregory the Great. Many other treatments have not been so preserved. Origen's Homilies on the book, dealing with it in selective fashion, have been preserved in Jerome's Latin translation, but numerous fragments of his work on Ezekiel have been preserved, largely through the catena. Because of Origen's formidable stature as an interpreter (and source for Jerome), these fragments have been studied more than others. The catena, however, also includes extensive material attributed to Polychronius, a major scholar in the Antiochene tradition (and brother to Theodore of Mopsuestia), Apollinaris of Laodicea, Severus of Antioch, Cyril of Alexandria, and also a mysterious exegete identified only as "another" (Greek ἄλλος). Although some of this material is technically accessible to scholars, it has been largely neglected on account of the difficulty of using it with confidence.
This website presents, in both Greek and in English translation, the Biblical text of Ezekiel accompanied by the comments contained within the catena, organized in independently scrollable columns for different commentators. Critical evaluation of the text and the attributions of the comments is reflected in the annotations and discussion included along with the text. Cod. Ottobon. 452, one of the most important manuscripts of the catena, is the primary basis for this edition; where critical editions of the relevant material are available, they are also used; as opportunity arises, the other major mss. of the catena will be brought to bear. The digital framework itself will help to further critical reflection on both text and attribution, of course.
The catena on Ezekiel has never been published in its entirety. Imperfect reflections of it have been offered in a number of publications through the years, and it is hoped that a critical edition of the complete catena will appear soon.
Faulhaber and others (esp. Vianès) on the catena tradition.
Manuscripts.
[The original works are in the public domain; "faithful reproduction" of them also constitutes public domain in the USA (albeit not some other countries), as outlined at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Template:PD-Art ; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:When_to_use_the_PD-Art_tag ; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Reuse_of_PD-Art_photographs ]
